CHT announced that it has obtained certification from Visa for its NFC TSM system and has become a Visa-approved vendor able to provide mobile Visa credit card payment services on NFC-enabled smartphones in the Taiwan market.

The certification from the world's largest credit and debit card company means Chunghwa Telecom will be able to issue virtual cards through over-the-air downloads, enabling users to simply tap their NFC-enabled phones on a compatible reader to make payments.

Mobile Visa credit card payments can be made at more than 30,000 retail stores around Taiwan and overseas Visa payWave retail stores.

CHT said it plans to form a strategic partnership with local banks to promote mobile Visa credit card payment services based on its TSM system.

CHT said it intends to team up with local partners including banks to jointly launch commercial services based on NFC technology in the near term in a bid to launch an NFC ecosystem in Taiwan.

CHT began a trial project for NFC-based mobile payments in 2012 that enabled subscribers with Android handsets featuring the technology to make payments on Taipei's metro system as well as in selected retail outlets.

The company formed the Asia NFC Alliance in February this year along with Japanese carrier KDDI Corp., SK Planet of South Korea and Hong Kong Telecommunications Corp. (香港電訊) to boost cross-border mobile payment services by using a shared NFC tag specification, brand mark and platform.